On his return to international rugby after an 18-month absence, the 30-year-old flyhalf kicked his injury-hit team into a 9-5 halftime lead and gave it hope of an unlikely victory over the touring Wallabies.

Slow ball and inexperience let Australia back into the match and left Johnson contemplating a seventh loss from his 12 matches in charge, but Wilkinson showed he has made the transition from boy wonder to the old hand ready to help guide a new-look side.

Johnson was without 13 players because of injury, including an entire Lions' front row and certain starters Delon Armitage and Riki Flutey. But Wilkinson's calming influence made up for much and helped coax encouraging performances from less experienced teammates.

"It's great to be back," Wilkinson said. "We like the odd sabbatical away from it, from having bashed up bodies, but coming back is great and being in front of a crowd like that, you just want more."

And even with matches against Argentina and New Zealand to come, things look brighter than after last year's 28-14 loss in the corresponding fixture.

"This is a fantastic squad in terms of the attitude and energy we've got and in the direction we're trying to take this," Wilkinson said. "They've played a lot of test matches together and they've been through a lot and that brings you closer together.

"We'll have familiar experiences to make us tighter. There's only so much experience you can get from working and training."

Wilkinson should know.

The famously fanatical trainer spent hours each day practicing the kicking that has made him rugby's all-time leading points scorer _ 1,041 for England after Saturday _ but his loose play showed the benefit of having spent the first two months of this season injury free and out on the field.

Reinvigorated by a move from Newcastle to Toulon, Wilkinson was back to his best Saturday, stopping bigger opponents in their tracks with bone-shaking tackles and spreading play with imaginative cross-field kicking.

It only took 2 minutes, 44 seconds for him to remind fans what they had been missing since shoulder surgery, knee damage, appendix removal, hernia operation, a lacerated kidney and other injuries interrupted his progress.

He put England ahead with a drop goal, just as he did in the closing stages of the 2003 World Cup final win over the same opponents.

"It's a fantastic feeling, it really is, and what's so great is that you're being supported," Wilkinson said. "Being out there, who knows how it's going to go? You prepare the best you can and give it absolutely everything."